Disclaimer: The lads aren't mine. This sort of law isn't my invention, either; they've been applied over the years, in one form or another, to many different groups of people.

Toujours Pur

Part One

Being the first day of August, Wizarding Year five thousand, three hundred, twenty-two; (Muggle year one thousand nine hundred seventy-six); AND

Herewith assembled for the common good of the Magical Community;

We, the assembled and unanimous body of the Most High Council of Wizards,

Do hereby announce that, for the better definition of the role of the lycanthrope in modern society, for the common protection of lycanthropes as beings, and for the protection of human Wizarding society, the creation, ratification, and passage of an

ACT FOR THE PROTECTION OF WEREWOLVES

1. The establishment, under the purview of the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Capture Unit, of Containment Facilities, into which werewolves may be placed at the time of the full moon or other infectious periods; AND

1a. That werewolves shall be placed into said Facilities ONLY if it is determined by the Ministry that they are not making proper precautions against exposure to human society during the full moon or other infectious periods; AND

1b. That said Containment Facilities shall be spaciously appointed, with six feet by six feet by six feet provided for each individual placed in the Facility; that furnishings of not substandard quality shall be provided for their use and comfort; and food shall be provided for their sustenance and basic nutrition.

2. That all werewolves shall, regardless of past behavior, be MARKED with a special insignia by the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Registry, to ensure future compliance with this and other existing laws both specific to werewolves and common to the Wizarding population in general; AND

2a. That this MARK will be provided by the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Registry, FREE OF CHARGE to all werewolves, both Wizarding and Muggle.

3. That, to ensure the common good, to provide for the peaceful transfer of estates, and to ensure a minimum of economic disruption, werewolves shall not be allowed to own property amounting to more than 200 Galleons (Gl 200). Said property shall include: Clothing of all kinds, personal effects of all kinds, books, musical instruments, home appliances, and furnishings of all kinds; AND

3a. That consumable personal effects such as food, soaps, and other small items that are regularly purchased and consumed for basic survival SHALL NOT be included in the Gl 200 total; AND

3b. That no werewolf shall own any real property, including but not limited to land or housing of any kind; AND

3d. That rental of property is NOT considered consumable, and is NOT exempt from the Gl 200 total.

4. That, for the protection of the general society, werewolves shall not hold any job that permits them to come into extended contact with humans, whether Wizarding or Muggle; AND

4a. That no werewolf shall hold a job for which the pay is greater than the amount of real property that they are allowed to hold; AND

4b. That a small fee, to be exempted from the Gl 200 limit, shall be paid to any werewolf who extinguishes any other werewolf.

5. That all werewolves shall be appointed a legal guardian to be approved by the Ministry of Magic, Being Division, Office of Werewolf Support Services; AND

5a. That this guardian shall make any and all significant decisions for this werewolf in his or her care; AND

5b. For the safety of further human generations, that werewolves shall not be permitted to bear offspring, whether by means biological reproduction or lycanthropic infection; AND

5c. That the age of consent for werewolves is hereby REVOKED; AND

5d. That werewolves shall not be permitted to engage in sexual activity that could potentially result in offspring, whether by means biological reproduction or lycanthropic infection; AND

5e. To reduce the temptation to produce offspring, whether by means biological reproduction or lycanthropic infection, that werewolves shall not be permitted to marry or to partake in any ritual resembling marriage, or to live in a marriage-like arrangement; AND

5f. To further this last directive, that all existing unions, marital and otherwise, are herewith DISSOLVED.

6. That, for the safety of future generations, the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Registry, retains the sole right to determine if any individual werewolf's personal behavior violates the provisions of Article 5 (inclusive) above; AND

6a. That the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Registry, shall have the sole right to determine if sterilization is required to ensure that the werewolf is compliant with Article 5 (inclusive); AND

6b. That the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Registry, shall have the sole right to order that sterilization be done; AND

6c. That said medical procedure shall be provided FREE OF CHARGE to the werewolf and that the cost and value said medical procedure shall be exempt from the Gl 200 limit.

7. That, to ensure the ongoing political stability of the Wizarding community, werewolves shall not have the right of suffrage; AND

7a. That werewolves shall not hold any elected or appointed official or judicial office; AND

7b. That any werewolf currently holding any elected or appointed official or judicial office is hereby RESIGNED from that office.

8. That, to ensure the ongoing safety of the entire Wizarding community, any werewolf who bites, infects, injures, kills, or attempts to bite, infect, injure, or kill any human, Wizard or Muggle, shall be remanded to the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Capture Unit; AND

8a. That any werewolf so accused as specified above is acting outside the bounds of normal human society and therefore not entitled to a trial; AND

8b. That the Ministry of Magic, Beast Division, Werewolf Capture Unit, may administer any punishment it deems fit, up to and including euthanasia.

I, the undersigned, do declare that I am the rightfully elected Minister of Magic; that my signature affixed below affirms the legality of this Act; and I do declare that, with my signature, this Act shall become LAW, for the betterment, comfort, and enjoyment of the entire Wizarding Community.

(signed)

Fenwick Strathern,

MINISTER OF MAGIC

Part Two

They found him on the Hogwarts Express, sitting quietly, waiting for them; the only thing wrong with the picture of their normally composed friend was that there wasn't a book on his lap. "There're only ever two things in that pretty little lap," Sirius had once joked, "a book, or me."

Remus smiled, a little weakly. "I had to come early," he said. "I've got a lot of packages."

"What of?" asked Peter brightly.

The faint smiled faded. "Old presents. I have to give them back."

"Don't you like them any more?"

Remus turned away from Peter Pettigrew, and looked out the window of the train, although the only view it offered was still King's Cross Station. Sirius sat next to Remus, close, and half wrapped himself around the other boy.

"I've missed you."

Remus mumbled an indistinct reply, not turning to his boyfriend.

Peter elbowed his seat-mate, James, in the ribs. "Oi, what's with Lupin?"

"Don't you read the Daily Prophet, Peter?"

"Only the sporting section."

"I'm surprised you don't keep up, given your family connections."

"'s boring. Politics and all. Dull. What's up?"

"I've been legislated out of existence." Remus was still facing out the window, but his voice filled the small cabin.

"The Ministry passed a new Werewolf Protection Act," said James.

"I know, I heard my Dad talking about it practically every day at dinner. He says it redefines the rights of the modern lycanthrope. That's good, isn't it? Don't werewolves need more protection?"

"We do now," said Lupin grimly.

Sirius still clung on to his boyfriend, but he faced Peter. "They should have called it the "Protection from Werewolves Act," he said, his voice thick with anger. "They took away practically every right you could think of."

"And a few even they couldn't at the time," said Remus. He finally turned, facing the rest of the group, and snuggling into Sirius' arms. "There've been new directives practically every day, modifying the Act."

"So why are you returning all the things we've given you?"

"I'm not allowed to own more than 100 Galleons' worth of possessions." Sirius gave him an inquiring look, and Remus explained, "One of the directives changed the amount. Apparently someone thought 200 Galleons was overly generous." He fiddled with Sirius' school tie. "I'm sorry to burden you with all that stuff, but I was afraid that if I sent all those parcels to you at home, your families would get curious and find out about me." He kissed Sirius' chin. "Especially since you were staying with the Potters. It'd be twice the stuff."

Sirius didn't answer; he couldn't. He'd given Remus a lot of gifts over the years, from the practical to the providential ("I swear, Re, it just dropped into my hands! I had to buy it for you"), from the ridiculous to the sublime. Most of those gifts had been expensive; any two would take Remus over the limit.

"You can still give me things like chocolate or sweets for Yule or my birthday," Remus was saying. "Those're consumable, and they're not included in the hundred-Galleon limit."

Sirius cupped Remus' face in his hands, and tilted that gorgeous face up to his own.

"I've worked it all out," he said. You don't have to worry about anything. You're going to live with me after we graduate. I'll get myself appointed your guardian - that way no one'll question why we live together. I'll say it's because I have to keep an eye on you. And as for all the presents - okay, I own them, but you can borrow them whenever you want. Especially the robes."

Sirius had got Remus a set of new school robes for Christmas last year; Remus had had a growth spurt - though he was still small compared to James and Sirius - and his robes were halfway up his calves. ("Give it a few months," Peter had said at the time, "and you'll be wearing a mini-dress.")

Remus smiled, and leaned up into a brief, chaste kiss. "Dumbledore's going to be my guardian," he said when the kiss ended. "He agreed the day after the Act was passed."

Sirius felt a flash of anger. "Why didn't you ask me?"

"How likely are they to give me a guardian my own age? At least, when that age is just barely seventeen?

Sirius made an annoyed sound; Remus caressed his cheek comfortingly. "No, my love, Dumbledore is my guardian. Maybe he'll transfer my guardianship to you once you're older. But in the meantime, you can say you live with me as Dumbledore's agent, that he asked you to keep an eye on me. Same excuse, really."

"I love you," said Sirius, his tone urgent. "I want you to know that. No matter what changes in the world, I love you. Always."

Remus smiled, and nuzzled his head into the crook of Sirius' arm.

"What I don't understand is the rent qualification," said James. "You can't rent even a hovel for under a hundred galleons a year. How are you supposed to live? On the streets? I mean, what do they expect you to do, whore yourself?"

"I wouldn't be a very successful whore," said Remus thoughtfully. "Except maybe in the freak trade."

"Remus!"

"I'm sorry, Siri, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I just meant that I'm pretty easily identifiable now, once I take my shirt off." He undid his tie and the first few buttons of his shirt - old and worn, Sirius noticed, probably recently purchased second- or third-hand, to meet the requirements of the Act - and pulled the fabric aside. On his skin was -

"Is that the moon?" asked James.

"Yeah. It's the Ministry's new Registry Mark. It's enchanted, so it mimics the stages of the moon. I guess having a bunch of numbers tattooed on my backside wasn't enough." He tidily replaced his clothing.

"It's not very distinct," said Peter. "I could barely see it from here. You'd think that if they wanted it to be really identifiable, that it would be bigger. Or a picture of a wolf. The moon just looks like a little circle."

As Sirius shot Peter a death-glare, Remus said, his voice steady, "Sometimes it's pretty identifiable. When the moon's a crescent, for instance."

"But then you just look like you're too fond of croissants."

Remus laughed; at least, he supposed it was meant as a joke, and if it wasn't... hell, the only form of protest he had left was laughing. He'd thought of that last night, laying awake, wondering how his friends would act toward him. At the time it had struck him as a profound thought, a kind of call to duty to enjoy life.

Now it just depressed him.

The train pulled out of the station; gradually, the four boys began talking about school, friends, classes. Normal things. That itself pleased Lupin.

There was a tap on the door. The boys had been expecting the trolley witch, but it wasn't she. The four of them just stared for a moment; then Remus got up and opened the door.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Yes?"

"That article in the Prophet. About the new werewolf laws. I want you to know I think they're idiotic, Remus. They'll be repealed before we're out of Hogwarts."

"I wish I shared your optimism, Severus."

Snape shrugged. Then he turned and walked back to his own compartment.

"That was strange." Remus tried to re-take his place by Sirius; but Sirius captured him as he sat and maneuvered his lover onto his own lap.

"I didn't know you were on first-name terms with Snape."

"I just found out myself."

"Wiggle a bit for me, eh?"

"What, am I too heavy for you?"

"No, but if you wiggle a bit I'll get nice and hard."

"You two are disgusting." Peter stood up. "I'm finding another compartment. Are you coming with me, James?"

"Uh... no. I'm... used to them, I think."

Peter left; the remaining boys gaped at one another.

"What's with him?" demanded Sirius. "I'm always trying to half-fuck Moony. We keep our pants on in company."

"Very courteous of you," said James. "I think he's just a little unnerved."

"We've been snogging since second year and shagging since third," said Remus reasonably. "That's plenty of time to acclimate."

James held up a hand. "You been snogging since second year?"

"Not 'kissing' snogging," said Sirius, "more like, 'shyly feeling each other up through our clothes' snogging."

"I believe that 'fondling' is the OED's second definition of 'snogging,'" said Remus. "But I still don't get Peter. Second year, third year - point is, he's had plenty of time to get used to us, and he hasn't reacted this way before."

James' expression grew grave. "You really don't know, do you? Either of you?"

"No, what?"

James' eyes flickered to the door through which Peter had just left, then to the ground. He finally looked up at his two friends, and found, with a small struggle, Remus' eyes.

"His father works for the Ministry of Magic."

"So? So does yours."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?"

"Peter's father helped write the Act."